By Abhijith Ganapavaram

June 20 (Reuters) - Joby Aviation ( JOBY ) said on

Thursday the U.S. aviation regulator has authorized the use of

the air-taxi maker's in-house software to perform tasks such as

managing pilot workload and matching passengers with aircraft

similar to ride-hailing apps.

The nod for the operating system, known as ElevateOS, comes

as Joby gears up to launch its commercial air-taxi operations as

early as 2025.

The Santa Cruz, California-based company is one of the

several makers of air taxi - also known as electric vertical

take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft - that has emerged over

the last few years with a promise to decongest urban travel by

offering intra-city rides.

Joby has commercial agreements to integrate the software

with Uber Technologies ( UBER ) and Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) that

will allow passengers to book and pay for flights, Bonny Simi,

Joby's president of operations, told Reuters in an interview.

ElevateOS was authorized for use by the U.S Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) as part of its Part 135 Certification,

which Joby received in 2022, she said, adding the company has

tested the system by ferrying employees between its sites.

The air-taxi maker also plans to make money from selling the

software as a service. The company's eVTOL aircraft is designed

to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph.

Joby, which went public in 2021 through a SPAC merger, has

attracted investments from transport industry heavyweights such

as Toyota ( TM ), Uber ( UBER ) and Delta Air.

Several large publicly companies have bet on air taxi

makers, but the industry faces technological and regulatory

hurdles in beginning operations and achieving profitability.

Those challenges have weighed on the sector's shares. Shares

of Joby have fallen 24.8% this year, while peer Archer Aviation ( ACHR )

is down 50.2%.